Have an app that’s not responding on Android? It can be frustrating when you’re stuck on an app that’s frozen and doesn’t seem to register your taps or swipes. Thankfully, closing such frozen apps is surprisingly easy! The next time this happens to you, keep these simple steps in mind:

Press the Recent Apps button on your device to open the Multitasking menu. On many phones, this is the square button on the right side of the on-screen navigation bar. If your phone doesn’t have one, try holding the Home button for the same effect.

Swipe the app you’d like to close to the left or right quickly, or tap the X icon on an app’s entry.

The app then disappears from the list and is no longer running.

On some devices, you might see a Close All button if you slide to the top of the list. This lets you kill all running apps.

But it’s important to note that you do not need to close apps all the time. Many users of both Android and iOS constantly open this menu and obsessively kill all the apps listed. This is counter-productive because it forces apps to restart every time you use them, and denies you the convenience of switching to an app you just used. You should only use this method to kill apps that aren’t responding.

Ben is a Deputy Editor and the Sponsored Post Manager at MakeUseOf. He holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Grove City College, where he graduated Cum Laude and with Honors in his major. He enjoys helping others and is passionate about video games as a medium.